


From the Beginning

by apparatuscarter



Category: Blake Shelton (Musician), Gwen Stefani - Fandom, Gwen Stefani/Blake Shelton - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Football
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:42:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27602285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apparatuscarter/pseuds/apparatuscarter
Summary: AU of Gwen and Blake at USC. Gwen is starting a fashion business and Blake is the school's Quarterback.
Relationships: Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know that Gwen and Blake's age gap would not make sense but in this case, they are both freshmen at the school and are 19.

It was a sunny Spring morning, the flowers were blossoming and the palm trees flourishing in their prime. The last box was packed in the van and she was about to head to the campus. 

“Dad, I’ll come back home every weekend. I’m not going away forever.” Gwen said.  
“I know I know, It was just yesterday when you were learning to walk and now you're all grown up. I am so proud of you. It’s going to be dull without you here.” Dennis said.   
“Thank you, Dad. Besides you have mom and Todd you even won’t notice that I’m gone,” Gwen said teasingly.

They said their final goodbyes and Gwen was off to USC. She was starting her freshman year there and was going to major in Business hoping to one day own a fashion business. She knew that designing clothes was her calling and decided that she was going to pursue it.

-

Once she got to the campus she unloaded her car. She didn’t bring much considering her parents had only lived about 30 minutes away. After 2 tiring trips, everything had been unloaded. The other side of the dorm was empty and had not been occupied by anyone yet. She didn't know who her roommate was but she prayed that they could get along together. 

After about 10 minutes of unpacking, she heard a knock on the door. She walked over to the door and was greeted by a pretty blonde with the biggest smile. 

“Is this room 207?” she said.  
“Yes, it is,” Gwen replied as she moved out of the doorway to let her in.  
“My name is Gwen by the way.” Gwen said as the blonde was setting her stuff on the floor.  
“Oh my goodness where are my manners, sorry. I’m Chelsea” she said going over to shake Gwen’s hand.   
“Nice to meet you, Chelsea.” Gwen replied.  
“Same goes to you.” Chelsea replied with a big smile.

-

A week into school and she’d had already been utterly exhausted. Traveling around the campus and trying to manage her time had been the most difficult part of it all. She had taken 2 minors in addition to her major and they were more challenging than ever. She didn’t see Chelsea much and when she did it was late at night. Chelsea had even invited her to a party at some point in the week but Gwen politely declined. “Who parties on the first week of school?” Gwen thought to herself.   
The weekend finally came and she headed down to Anaheim. She knocked on the door and was greeted by her mother. She was wearing an apron and the smell of lasagna came from the kitchen. They hugged and her father appeared from the kitchen. She went inside and hugged her father. They exchanged a few stories and ate. Todd had gone somewhere with his girlfriend and hadn’t been there. She decided to sleep at her parents that night and drive home the next morning. She had gotten the best sleep that week and woke up feeling refreshed as ever.

She headed back to the campus and went straight to her dorm room. She went in and saw Chelsea in her bed. She tried to be as quiet as she could but that proved to fail as Chelsea started to wake up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Gwen said. “What time is it?” she said groggily. “Almost 9,” Gwen replied. No later than a second after she said that, Chelsea sprang up from the bed. Chelsea was ready to go in minutes and left. Gwen didn’t question anything and assumed that she was late for class or something. She went to the library and finished her homework. After that she walked around campus and got to see where everything was. She got to see Tommy Trojan and the Hecuba Statue.

She woke up early the next day and went to an off-campus coffee shop. She had been in a good morning since she had woke up and surprisingly couldn’t wait until she got to class. As she was rounding a corner, she bumped into someone and fell back a bit. She caught herself from falling down but spilled some coffee on herself in the process. She immediately looked to see what idiot wasn’t paying attention when turning the corner. In front of her was a tall and athletic guy. He had his curly hair out and the hint of a beard forming. She was still standing there and he quickly went over to her.   
“Are you ok?” the stranger said.  
“Yeah,” Gwen said as she was still looking at his features, she quickly straightened out her shirt and tried to wipe the coffee away. "It's ok" Gwen added.  
“I can go get a napkin if you want. I wasn't paying attention, sorry.” he said.   
"It's ok, you don't have to get a napkin." Gwen said in a more stern tone as she was starting to get annoyed at the stranger's concern.  
"Sorry," he said with an apologetic tone and then started to walk away.

-

She got back to her dorm and she couldn’t stop thinking about the cute stranger. She probably wouldn’t see him any time soon and she accepted that. Her thoughts were interrupted when Chelsea came in. “Hey” Chelsea said. “Hello” Gwen said. “How has your week been?” Gwen asked. “Pretty good. How about you?” Chelsea replied. “Pretty good also.” Gwen replied. There was an awkward silence between the two. Gwen was trying to think of something but couldn't so she decided to go sit at her desk and do homework instead. Chelsea was at her desk and they sat in silence doing work.  
About an hour later, Gwen broke the silence and asked Chelsea what some of her hobbies were in hopes of getting to know her roommate more. They shared some mutual hobbies and were more alike than they thought. After talking for a bit they got ready for bed and went to sleep.

-

It had been a crazy but incredible first month at USC. She stayed true to her word and visited her parents every weekend. She was doing well in her classes and she and Chelsea were as close as ever. She would even consider Chelsea a good friend of hers. Chelsea had invited Gwen to multiple parties but Gwen wasn’t interested in that at all. She had made some friends in her classes and was enjoying her experience so far. 

-

“Hey, do you want to go to the football game?” Chelsea asked one night as they were about to go to sleep.  
“I don’t really like sports and would rather stay here, sorry.” Gwen replied.  
“Oh come on, you don’t go to parties and you don’t go to football games. You have got to be the most boring person I know.” Chelsea said teasingly. Before Gwen could reply Chelsea said, “Well, their first game is next Tuesday so if you change your mind, tell me.”   
“I will,” Gwen said as she slowly drifted off. 

It was on Sunday when Gwen decided to go to the football game. She knew nothing about football but Chelsea had been nagging her all week so why not. She had never been to a legitimate football game and decided that it would be fun. The whole campus had a very different aura on the day of the game. USC football gear was worn all around campus and everyone was excited. She went back to her dorm and went to choose an outfit to wear. Chelsea stopped by the dorm and we started to walk over to the football stadium.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that I had not given much of a background. This story takes place in 1999. Sorry for the late upload, already experiencing writers block which isn't a good sign considering this is the 2nd chapter. This one is a little short, sorry about that!

As soon as she went through the entrance she was immediately overwhelmed by the size of the stadium. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. She and Chelsea went to their seats and settled down. The stadium was slowly filling up and some players were out on the field practicing before the game. She realized that she had only ever been to 2 or 3 football games in her life, so this experience was fairly new. They weren’t too far from the field, and you could see some of the player’s faces if they were close enough. Chelsea had brought some other friends and had introduced her to them. They talked and joked around with them before the game had started. She saw the players start to go the locker rooms and she turned to talk to Chelsea. 15 minutes later she was interrupted by loud “Fight On!” chants. She turned to see what was happening and everyone started to stand up, so she did too. It was weird, everyone in the stands was saying or doing something and there she was just standing there. She turned to Chelsea to see what she was doing and followed her movements. The stadium was almost filled at this point and she could see a, what she assumed to be, trojan riding a horse. Before going to USC she did read a little about USC’s history and learned about a highly praised “Tommy the Trojan.” She’d walk past the statue every day when going from her dorm to her classes. Players started running from the tunnel and the crowd erupted in cheers. The players had red and yellow jerseys on with yellow spandex. The crowd was deafening. She never was interested in football and never understood why people played or watched but she enjoyed that people were this excited for football. It was just some dudes tackling other dudes for a football.

After the opening ceremony and seeing Tommy the Trojan riding around the stadium interacting with the audience, the game started. USC was playing against ASU and the game was about to start. USC had the ball first and they started the first few plays doing pretty well. Not that she knew if they were playing good enough but she assumed that they were since they were moving down to the other side of the field fairly quickly. She was watching but wasn’t really paying attention to anything in particular. She’d turn to Chelsea occasionally to ask about what was happening but even after Chelsea explained it, she still didn’t really grasp the idea of it. All she knew was to celebrate when they got a touchdown and to boo when the other team got any points. After the first quarter, it started to get interesting and she decided that she’d actually pay attention to the game. A USC quarterback threw it for a touchdown and the crowd erupted. The quarterback was praised by the commentators and she could hear people talking about him. They showed a replay on the jumbotron and there was something about the quarterback’s facial features that were way too familiar. She noticed the same blue eyes she had bumped into weeks ago. The back of his jersey said Shelton and that was all she knew. She turned to Chelsea to ask about him. “Some new quarterback here. He’s not too bad considering this is his first game. I don’t know much about the players in the first place but he has been talked about on campus a lot.” Chelsea replied. “Really? He looks familiar, I’m pretty sure I bumped into him on campus at some point.” Gwen said. “Should have asked for an autograph,” Chelsea replied jokingly. “Not to mention how cute he is. He’s got one of those faces, you know?” Chelsea added before she could say anything. “He was very nice and apologetic when I met him. A little too apologetic that it annoyed me.” Gwen said. “He’s definitely your type,” Chelsea replied. “Since when did you know my type?” Gwen asked. “I just know,” Chelsea shrugged. There were a bunch of whistles and the first half of the game was over. The players went back into the tunnel and the marching band started to walk out onto the field. They played some songs and made some dance formations. The halftime was over in no time and the players were back on the field. She couldn’t help but take some glances at the quarterback. He was smiling with his teammates and got ready to go on the field. A few plays later and they had to kick the ball to the other team. “Why are they kicking the ball? That’s like handing them the ball, no?” Gwen asked. “They have to kick it because it’s fourth down. If they were to play and didn’t get the ball across the first goal mark then the other team would get the ball at that place. It’s very risky to play on 4th down unless it’s necessary.” Chelsea replied. “Oh, I see. That makes sense.” Gwen said as she began to really understand. The game continued and she was starting to get the hang of it all. Some things she didn’t understand whatsoever but that was the least of her worries. She’d occasionally scan over the players to look for #18. He was taller than most players and had a different aura than others around him. She was completely fascinated by him.

“Who you staring at?” Chelsea asked after she saw Gwen staring at some players. “No one,” Gwen said nonchalantly. “Sure about that?” Chelsea asked. “Yes,” Gwen said as she tried to play it off knowing that Chelsea had caught her.

The game ended and USC had taken the win 24-17. The crowd roared as the clock went down to its final seconds. The players went back into the tunnel and the crowd slowly started to decrease. Since it was a Tuesday night and she had work to do still, she didn’t want to linger any longer. She and Chelsea walked back to their dorm and got ready for bed. She had a job interview tomorrow evening for a position at an on campus cafe that she was trying to go for.

She woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated. She had gone to sleep as soon as she had brushed her teeth and changed. She had to get ready for class and her job interview. 

She finished class and walked over to the cafe. She liked the off-campus better but this one was closer to her dorm and classes so it was ideal for her. She went to change and went there and did the interview.

Once she finished with everything for the day she changed her clothes at her dorm and met up with Chelsea at a restaurant outside of USC. It was a cozy little diner with the best Italian dishes. She knew it wouldn’t be better than her mom’s homemade recipes but it would suffice. They talked about their plans for the weekend and the upcoming week.  
“There is a screening for the next football game that we can watch. You seemed to enjoy it yesterday.” Chelsea said as she gave her a knowing look. “You were staring at #18 the whole game so…” Chelsea added before Gwen could say anything. “Maybe..” Gwen said as she blushed. “It was so obvious. Anyways what are you doing this weekend?” Chelsea said. “I’m probably going to visit my parents, how come?” Gwen replied. “I was going to invite you to a party and before you decline just know that a couple years from now you are going to regret being the one person in college who never went to any parties. You have to get yourself out there, come on.” Chelsea said. “I’ll think about it. Who’s going to be there?” Gwen replied. “I heard about some football players going but i’m not sure. It’ll be fun.” Chelsea said.

Blake POV

Transitioning from highschool to college football was hard. From the early morning workouts to the late practices. Not to mention the maintaining grades part. The first game had come in a blur and the whole week was filled with pressure to win. The first game was always the worst. The whole school is depending on you to do good and if you don’t they’ll tear apart your image. 

Before the game I got some practice in throwing to some of my receivers. The energy behind all the players and the game day atmosphere felt good. Back in the locker rooms the coach gave the final speech and we ran up the tunnel to the deafening crowd. The crowd was full of red and yellow USC gear. No words could describe the feeling of going out to a crowd like that. The game started with us receiving the ball. The first few plays started slow and ended up with a punt. I walked back to the sideline and watched the plays back again to see what I did wrong. The first quarter went by with a score of 0-7 with us trailing behind. The second quarter felt much better. Everyone on the team was starting to get used to the game experience. We forced 2 turnovers and got 2 touchdowns. The first half came to an end as all the players went back into the tunnel. The coach gave an encouraging talk and it was time to go out and finish the game. 

“Shelton, Keep your head in.” his coach yelled as I started to walk to the bench after a disappointing drive that ended in a turnover. I sat on the bench and watched some more replays. Some players and coaches went over to him to give advice and to give some encouragement. The other team's possession ended with them getting another touchdown and I was back on the field. The score was tied and I was determined to make sure ASU wouldn't win. After a couple of plays, we were at the 10 yard line and wr were setting up the next play. I threw it to one of the wide receivers and he caught it for a touchdown. The crowd erupted. The sideline celebrated and high fives were passed all around. The game continued and we had gotten a field goal. The team was playing very well after.

The game ended with our team getting some more points and beating ASU by 7 points. 7 points wasn't that big of a difference and it was disappointing that we didn't beat them by more but a win is win. The locker room was full of excited bodies. Music was being played and coaches were congratulating everyone. 

The next morning I showed up to practice and then class. Luke, one of the wide receivers, came up and we ended up talking for a while. “There’s a party this week. There’s not gonna be a lot of people I swear.” Luke said. “Tell me the day and i’ll see if i have anything to do.” I replied. “Coach is going to be pissed if he finds out, but only this once I'll go.” I said before Luke could reply. “See you there,” Luke said as they said their final goodbyes and went their separate ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one:) Not sure when the next chapter will be posted, no later than a week though.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just an idea I wanted to fiddle with, if you enjoy it and would like more, feedback would be greatly appreciated! Even if its negative feedback, I still want to hear it. Next update will be out in a couple days and I assure you that it will be much longer.


End file.
